The Huskers earned their third consecutive victory over a ranked opponent on Friday night.

Photo Courtesy Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

01/18/2013

Lincoln, Neb. - All five of No. 14 Nebraska's nationally
ranked wrestlers won their matches on Friday night to lead the Huskers to an
18-15 upset of No. 5 Illinois at the NU Coliseum.

The Huskers
improve to 9-3 on the season by earning their third consecutive victory over a
ranked conference opponent. Nebraska also took down No. 11 Michigan and No. 18
Northwestern on the road last weekend. The Fighting Illini suffer their first
loss of the season after opening with five straight wins.

Junior
Shawn Nagel (133) opened the dual with a back-and-forth battle against No. 11
Daryl Thomas of Illinois. Nagel, however, couldn't keep his momentum going from
last weekend's success as he fell by a 10-8 decision. With the loss, he drops
to 12-10 on the season and 6-6 in duals.

The Huskers
won the next three matches by decision to build an early 9-3 lead against the
Illini. No. 19 Ridge Kiley (141) earned the first win by a 4-0 margin over
Logan Arlis. The senior from Eagle Grove, Iowa moves to 12-6 on the season and
7-2 in dual competition.

At 149
pounds, No. 12 Jake Sueflohn won an 8-1 decision over Illinois' Caleb Ervin. The
victory marked the sophomore's 16th of the season as he goes to 7-2
in duals. Fellow sophomore James Green continued the NU momentum with his 9-4
decision over Matt Nora. Green, who is the No. 4 wrestler in the country at 157
pounds, improves to 8-0 in duals and 15-2 overall. He is 3-0 since returning
from injury.

Senior
Tyler Koehn earned the start at 165 pounds for the second time this season in
duals. He lost a 10-4 decision to No. 8 Conrad Polz to cut the NU lead to 9-6. Koehn
falls to 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in duals.

No. 4
Robert Kokesh (174) and No. 8 Josh Ihnen (184) responded with wins in the next
two weight classes to give the Huskers a 15-6 lead. Kokesh, a sophomore, won an
8-3 decision over No. 8 Jordan Blanton. The victory marks Kokesh's 20th
straight of the season as he improves to 25-1 overall and 11-1 in duals. He
also earned his sixth consecutive victory over a ranked opponent as he improves
to 10-1 against ranked foes in 2012-13.

Ihnen, a
senior, battled in a back-and-forth match against No. 18 Tony Dallago. Ihnen
trailed 4-3 in the third period before a technical violation by Dallago
followed by an escape that secured a 5-4 win. Ihnen earned his 91st
collegiate victory on Friday night as he improves to 18-2 and 10-2 in duals.

At 197
pounds, the Illini bounced back as No. 11 Mario Gonzalez took down Nebraska's
Caleb Kolb in a 4-3 decision. The match cut the Husker lead to 15-9 with two
matches to go. Kolb trailed 3-0 in the first period, but a takedown in the
second period and an escape in the third period kept him in the match before
Gonzalez held on. Kolb drops to 9-13 on the season and 4-8 in duals.

Sophomore
Spencer Johnson made his third appearance of the season at heavyweight
following a 1-1 weekend against the Wolverines and Wildcats. The crowd of 1,365
roared as Johnson defeated Illinois' Chris Lopez, 3-1, to give the Huskers an
18-9 advantage heading into the final match.

At 125
pounds, freshman Eric Coufal was pinned by No. 5 Jesse Delgado of Illinois in
6:55, but it wasn't enough as Nebraska held on for an 18-15 victory.

The Huskers
return to action on Sunday, Jan. 27 as they travel to University Park, Pa. to
face No. 1 Penn State. The dual starts at 1 p.m. and will be available Big Ten
Digital Network. The next home match for Nebraska is on Friday, Feb. 1 against
Michigan State at the NU Coliseum. That match will also be on BTDN and is
scheduled to start at 7 p.m.